Oregon men settle boy scout sex abuse cases

Six men who alleged they were sexually abused by an Oregon Boy Scouts leader in the 1980s have settled their lawsuits against the group’s national organization for undisclosed amounts. The settlements include the case of one man, Kerry Lewis, who was awarded nearly $20 million in damages from Boys Scouts of America in a trial that ended in April. It was believed to be the largest such award against the national organization. A jury found the Texas-based group negligent for allowing a former assistant scoutmaster, Timur Dykes, to associate with Scouts after he admitted to a Scouts official in 1983 that he had molested 17 boys. The verdict came as the Boy Scouts, a Congressionally-chartered organization, marks its centennial.

Secret files kept by the Boy Scouts were used in the Lewis trial to demonstrate that the organization dismissed or ignored allegations of sex abuse by Scout leaders for nearly two decades. It was the first time the so-called “perversion files” had been used in a trial. After the jury’s verdict, the Boy Scouts of America still faced lawsuits from five other men who alleged Dykes molested them. Those trials had been scheduled to begin this fall. But all of the cases have been settled.

The Boy Scouts have settled sex abuse lawsuits out of court before, although the exact number is not known because not all are announced. But an expert on the subject, Patrick Boyle, has said that from 1984 through 1992, the Scouts were sued at least 60 times for alleged sex abuse, with settlements and judgments totaling more than $16 million.